I did about 2 mi warm-up heading for the connector hill, plus a little bit to hit the next whole minute, which was 21:00. Then I did one round of uphill Tabata “sprints”, 8 reps of 20 sec sprint with 10 sec rest between reps. It was rough. I started to get a little light headed at about rep 6. My legs handled it better than my lungs. The reps definitely felt short, but hard. The rest breaks felt much shorter than 10 sec.

I continued up the hill after finishing the tabata, walking the ups and very slowly jogging the flats. My lungs were burning for about 15 minutes afterwards. By about 20 minutes after, I started to feel semi-normal again. I did not enjoy that, but I’ll probably do it again sometime.

My right hip was slightly sore, mostly near the hip flexor, but I’m not sure what the exact muscle is called. I took it pretty easy and didn’t really have any troubles with it during the run, except for some discomfort during a pit stop. But it was fine when I started running again.

I modified these shoes much like I’ve done with my Altras. I left the foam around the top of the heel this time, and I think I’ll cut that away too. It’s more of a memory type foam than the softer foam in the Altras, and it puts more pressure on the calcaneus than I’d like.

My right hip was a little sore today, so I decided to cut my run down from the planned 8 mi. I was going to just do 4 mi, but I was feeling pretty good, so I went out 2.5 mi before turning back. The run was still going fine until about 3.5 mi, when my hip started hurting. I slowed down a bit. It eventually felt better and I finished the run fine.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

I decided not to run today. My hip hurt even more. It was a little harder than normal to move around without sharp pain in a couple spots around my right hip. Sleeping Sunday night to Monday was rough. I was relatively pain free and comfortable when I first went to sleep, but I kept waking up with pain and had a hard time finding a comfortable position most of the night.

There were too many cars parked at the gate where I had wanted to run. Glad it was so busy, so I got to check out Olney Creek rd for the first time. Some crusty, punchy snow part of the way. I’m looking forward to exploring out there more.

I had to loop back during the warm up to use the restroom at the grocery store. I did about 2 mi warmup. At 2 mi, I waited until the next whole minute, which was 25:00, I believe. Then I did 11 x 1 min repeats with 1 min rest between. I managed to only hit a hill on one of the intervals.
I miscounted the intervals. I stopped off the side of the road in the bushes after the 7th to pee, and my 1 min rest was over when I got back up on the road. I think that’s where I messed up the count. I meant to do 10.
I’m still figuring out pacing. I end up going a little too fast to start out, then dial it back a little. But my average interval pace was good. I definitely felt worked by the end. I may have been able to push out one more, but my legs were a bit heavy on the cool down.
I stopped briefly to chat with a neighbor on the way back home. My legs were recovered enough by the end to finish hard, so I did.

I had plenty left in the tank after last week’s 4x1mi, so I added a 5th today and bumped up the effort a little. About 1 mi warmup, 0.25 mi between repeats and 1 mi cool down. I tried to plan the route to hit flat sections for the intervals, but it didn’t quite work. I ended up trying to keep my pace up on the hills, which meant pushing harder. I’ll figure out a good route eventually. Nothing I could do about the wind picking up, blowing in my face on the last one.
First time in a long time that I felt a little nauseated at the end of a run. Just fine after having the 2nd half of the smoothie I had beforehand.

I did about 1.25 mi warm up, heading up Gunn Rd, to add a little mileage before heading out toward WFSP. Then I ran 4×1 mi repeats with 0.25 mi rest in between. It worked out almost perfectly, hitting a rest just before the hill past the neighborhood on May Creek Rd, and starting another interval at the top of the hill. I hit the 0.5 mi point on that interval just before the steep hill turning into WFSP and turned around. I finished that 1 mi just at the top of the May Creek Rd hill. I finished my 4th interval about a block before the abandoned blue house on Lewis Ave, sprinting out the finish.
I cooled down until crossing the RR tracks and dropped another faster interval to the turn, and a short final sprint at the end. I felt great after I caught my breath. That warm pump from a good workout.
I was really curious to see my HR data from today, but I ended up not taking my HRM. I charged it after it died on Sunday’s run, but it wouldn’t turn on today. I put it back on the charger before I left. It seems to be working gain, so I’m not sure what happened.

Monday, January 18, 2016
7:08 pm – Elliptical, 2164 revolutions, 20:00, 5/8 resistance.
I put on socks to ride the elliptical today. I wasn’t paying that much attention to the time and didn’t end up speeding up at the end today. I still did a little more than yesterday.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016
9:20 am – Elliptical, 2022 revolutions, 20:00, 3/4 resistance.
I decided to turn up the resistance for today’s ride. It slowed me down a little bit. I like it a little more difficult. I went faster the last 90 seconds again.
4:04 pm – 4.22 mi, 979 ft gain, 1:04:35. Reiter Rd DNR Hill Gate, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.
I wasn’t sure where or how far I was going to run today. Going out to Reiter was kind of a last minute decision. There was a car at the first gate, and I didn’t want to cross the creek at the second, so I went to the third, the one where the power line road goes almost immediately up a steep hill.
I definitely don’t have my climbing legs back yet, but I enjoyed it. I feel like my body can handle increasing the vert. I’m not sure if I want to increase it too much while also increasing the mileage.
About 1.5 mi in, we ran into snow. It started about ankle deep. It quickly went to calf deep, then knee deep. It was deepest on some of the steepest parts of the last hill. I was postholing the whole way. Once up to the dirt road just below the top, I turned left, and we ran up the road a bit to hit 2 mi.
We turned around and took the road back down to below the deepest snow and steepest parts. The last little climb up to the road is over boulders. I didn’t want to risk falling or slipping into a hole and getting hurt.
Once back into the snow, it was a lot of fun running down. It didn’t last long though. The rest of the descent was still quite fun.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016
9:09 am – Elliptical, 1963 revolutions, 20:00, 3/4 resistance.
I wasn’t concentrating on the ride much this morning, which led to going a little slower than usual. I took the liners out of a retired pair of running shoes and put them down on the treads. It’s much more comfortable than standing directly on all those hard ridges and bumps in my bare feet or socks.
3:57 pm – 4.9 mi, 981 ft elevation gain, 1:05:08. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Thursday, January 21, 2016
10:10 am – Elliptical, 2194 revolutions, 20:00, 3/4 resistance.
I was more present during the ride this morning, consciously keeping the cadence higher. I also felt better this morning than yesterday. I’m not sure why, but I’ll take it. I used the shoe inserts again. I’d like to get something that covers the whole tread instead. I sometimes have to make an effort to keep them from moving.
3:52 pm – 3.14 mi, 28 ft elevation gain, 21:59. Around town, solo. New Balance MR 10v2 white
I decided that I wanted to run fast today. I also didn’t feel up to running all that much, and it didn’t seem like the weather was going to give me much of a break, so a short fast run fit well.
There was a slight drizzle off and on the whole time. A nice stiff breeze was at my back on the way out. At times, it gave me a very noticeable speed boost. It was nice. I started at a comfortable pace and sped up as I went.
And then I made the turn to head home. The wind was not so nice running into it. Those same gusts that propelled me on the way out really slowed me down on the way back. My pace dropped, but my effort increased. My HR was just about back to normal. My legs didn’t quite feel as strong or fast yet, though, but it’s getting closer.
I enjoyed the run. Unfortunately, the lower leg discomfort is still there. I guess it’s shin splints, but not the kind that I used to get as a kid. As a kid it was the outside part where it’s more fleshy. Now it’s inside along the edge of the bone where it meets the calve muscles. I had the same issue at least once last year that I remember. That time, my shoes were worn out. I replaced them, and it went away. My current shoe rotation shouldn’t be that worn out, so my guess is that the related muscles haven’t fully recovered yet. It seems to be getting slightly better, and seems to mostly go away after a while on some runs. Maybe I’ll get some new shoes anyway. I’m down to my last 3 pair of Altra Superior 1.5, which are 2 updates behind, and my NB MR10v2 are pushing 400 mi.

Friday, January 22, 2016
9:20 am – Elliptical, 2166 revolutions, 20:00, 3/4 resistance.
I had to stop about 1 min in to let Sigurd outside. He had a little bit of stomach trouble and wanted to eat some grass. That usually settles his stomach.
When I got back on, I was less focused than yesterday, but more than the day before. My legs felt good, and the resistance didn’t seem quite as tough today. I rode the last 90 seconds fast again.
2:45 pm – 6.23 mi, 913 ft elevation gain, 56:53. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #6.
I was over-dressed today. I was expecting rain, but it turned out to be partly cloudy, and the sun came out for my run. It was also warmer today, so I left my jacket and hat in the car. I still had my gloves and was wearing running tights and a long sleeve shirt.
We ran out past Olney creek, then left out to the hill towards Wallace Lake. My uphill pace is coming back, but my legs don’t quite feel as strong yet. With the sun out, I started to get pretty warm going up the hill and took my shirt off. It felt great to have the sun on my skin.
We turned around at 3.1 mi, just past the last spur road before leaving the clear cut. I took it easy heading back down the hill for a while, then opened up and went with gravity. Then I started pushing downhill for a little while down to the rock pit. I slowed back down a little for the rest of the downhill after that. I went a little faster most of the rest of the way after that.
Partway down the last hill, I started pushing again. It’s nice to open up my stride and get my legs turning over. But my range of motion has not fully returned yet, so my hip flexors get kind of sore from it after I get home. They’ve been fine by the next morning every time so far, thankfully.
I thought I would get cold and put my shirt back on when I got back into the shadows in the trees, but I didn’t. I made it all the way back to the car. Still some shin splints, but it’s not getting worse. Getting better would be nice, but hopefully soon. I’ve been doing some periodic exercises throughout the day that are supposed to strengthen the arch, which can be one cause of this type of shin splints.